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Friday, April 8, 2011

Lessons for State and Homeschooling community from recent Court Case in South Africa

Reaction to the recent court case (see previous article in this blog) has reached the media.

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The Cape Times 6th April page 6 reported:

Home schools' lesson for the state

AN ORGANISATION that provided legal information to home schools and independent schools has welcomed a decision that these schools are not bound by the national curriculum.

The Pestalozzi Trust works with between 4 000 and 5 000 home schools in South Africa.

Judge Cynthia Pretorius recently found in the Pretoria High Court that the State curriculum was not binding on independent or home schools.

Home-schooling parents and private schools had asked the court to declare the curriculum non-binding, but Judge Pretorius found that a 2001 Constitutional Court judgment made the application unnecessary.

Bouwe van der Eems, a trustee of the Pestalozzi Trust, said private teachers could now safely ignore demands that they teach the state curriculum.

He expected the verdict would bring peace to parents and private education institutions, which "continually have to resist unlawful pressure from? authorities, demanding that they teach the national curriculum".

The Cape Times ran a series of articles in February about the increase in home schooling in South Africa. Most families opt not to register with the department.

Van der Eems said thousands of home-school ing parents and private schools had refused to register because officials made "unlawful demands, such as (that they comply) with the national curriculum as a condition for registration". He said parents and schools had been vindicated by the courts.

Trust member Leendert van Oostrum said it was regrettable the case had taken nearly four years. "The case was kept out of court while officials persisted in imposing the curriculum on private education.

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SABC Interview

Nancy Richards interviewed Leendert van Oostrum from the Pezzalozi Trust on SAfm on 8 April 2011